For nearly four months has not seen her child, whom justice placed in father’s arms. In the struggle to have him beside, she was left with a criminal proceeding, and for almost 10 months,  Mary is afraid to return home from Italy. During all this time the child was carried from Moldova to Italy, and then from one region to another. He was placed in the care of the authorities then returned to one of the parents.

By the end of May 2013, Mary went to take Nicolas from the kindergarten, as usual, around 5:30 p.m. The teacher said that the boy was already taken by his father. She waited all night, and no one was answering her calls. Subsequently she found out that Mario, the father of her son, left with the child to Italy. Mary decided to go to Italy, where she complained to courts  that her ex-husband, Mario Caporaso, had stolen the baby and would have taken him out from Moldova  without announcing her.

Child carried from mother to father

Maria and Mario Caporaso, divorced after almost ten years of living together and two years of marriage. Through an amicable settlement, the child lived with his mother, and father came to see him whenever he wanted. This began to annoy Maria, who wanted to subscribe Nicolas to various activities. So, the young mother thought it would be better to establish a schedule of meetings with the father and son and, in this regard, submitted a request in court. Accordingly, in April 2013, by a decision of the Rascani Court , on the divorce of the two, the court ordered placement of the child in mother’s care.

After what happened in May 2012, Mary wrote a complaint to Italian courts, saying that Mario Caporaso had stolen the baby. In July 2013, the Juvenile Court of Firenze found this. Meanwhile, was issued a ruling by which the father was forced to send the child to the mother, but he shirked this duty and returned with the little one to Moldova.

After the judgment of the Court from Firenze, Botanica Prosecutor also filed a criminal case on the fact of child abduction. This, however, was dismissed after Mario got another decision of the Court from Messina, ordering the child’s return to Moldova, with the father. Because the mother refused to give his acts, Prosecutor of the Juvenile Tribunal  from Messina ordered placement of the child in the community “Regina Elena” from Messina, until the release of an available document for expatriation. Meanwhile, Mary was hospitalized.

Judge issues another decision, opposite to the one of Court of Appeal

According to lawyer Oxana Hamureac, court from Messina based on an illegal ruling of the judge Sergei Papuha, from Rascani District Court, who ordered placement of the child to the father’s home. This despite the fact that, in relation to the child’s home, Rascani District Court yet decided in April 2013. Subsequently, this has been also maintained by the Court of Appeal. “Besides judge Papuha shouldn’t have granted the request or at least suspend the process, he  issues another decision, opposite to the one of the Court of Appeal, through which the child is placed at  father’s home. We attacked it. Subsequently, this decision was canceled, but, because of it Court from Messina ordered the child’s return to Moldova, with the father. Unfortunately, the court did not understand that this is a simple conclusion”, commented Oxana Hamureac, lawyer of Mary. She says that she wrote a complaint on the judge’s decision to the Superior Council of Magistrates. In the answer she was informed that illegalities has not been established and that the judge acted within the law.

“I am telling you frankly. I wrote the most complaints on this file in my practice as lawyer. No one responded. In court, Mario presents many papers from the police, even before any criminal case to be started. At one point, a police officer wrote that the mother must be revoked on the grounds that she would be violent. He submitted this documents to the Child Protection Directorate. They also attached video evidence, but we were not allowed to see what kind of evidence. The child was saying that mother beat him, but was talking like a robot”, says lawyer Hamureac.

“I know he has connections and money to buy the justice”

During all this time, the child was carried from Moldova to Italy and from Italy to Moldova. From one region to another. He was placed in the care of the authorities, then returned to a parent. Currently, he is living with his dad. Attending a kindergarten at Botanica. Nor even grandmother has access to him, who from time to time comes to see him. Kindergarten director says that she respects legal rules. “At kindergarden, who brings him, that one picks him up. If grandmother is coming , who is she? We have no right to give him. If I was to decide, I would put a sofa for her to come and spend time with him, but there are documents that prohibit me to do that when parents are divorced or do not get along. There was a scandal that the father had stolen the baby, but we did not have any written document which would prohibit us to give the baby to father”, claims the director of the kindergarten, Ana Popov.

For almost ten months Mary is located in Italy. She says she is afraid to return home. On her behalf, the Municipal Prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings for illegal removal of the child from the country, and in April ordered the initiation of investigations in order to find her. “I’m afraid to go back. He says to everyone he has power and will put me in prison, but I did nothing bad. I know he has connections and money to buy the justice. He has influence on those from  MIA and I have no guarantee that if I come home, I would not go to jail. I love my son and I dedicate my life to him,  but life has become a nightmare”, says Maria in a letter to ZdG.

Mary would have been influenced psychologicaly by her current boyfriend

Because the mother is not in Moldova at the moment, Department for Child Protection Rascani sector said in a notice to the Rascani District Court that it is in the child’s benefit to be placed with his father Mario Caporaso. But, for a final decision in this regard, the institution requested contribution of the court.

On the other hand, the father of the child says that initially had nothing against him to stay with the mother. Conflicts arose when Mario found out that his former friend and business partner, who is now  Mary’s beloved, wanted to seize his business, causing extensive damage. He holds in Moldova few companies specializing in construction, sales and products for export.

“In reality, however, these companies had no profits”, says Mary, who, from 2009 to 2012,  worked as an accountant at one of Mario’s companies. “Officially, I was an accountant but was also dealing with projects, customers, orders… From the inside, I can tell you that companies had no activity. In Moldova he deals with scams”, she explains.

Mario’s interest to take revenge on his former friend is visible. He claims that Mary would have been affected psychologically by her current boyfriend, because he would be a member of a controversial cult – Scientology. Together they forged credit cards and illegally extracted large sums of money. Mario also says that, on the names of the two, are opened several cases in Italy.

According to the man, namely this determined him to take the child into care. “If Mary would return and recognize that she was wrong, that she was manipulated by Serpore (her current boyfriend), if she would be the woman she was before, I would agree to give her the child. I know she’s a victim, too bad she does not understand”, says Mario Caporaso, trying to convince us that the way he acts is for the good of the child.

Raisa Razmerita